Rise of the Noble Knight
by Johnnieboy11
Summary: In spite of death on the planet Reach, Noble Six awakens to a new world facing imminent destruction from the outside monstrosities of magic known as Waves of Calamity and from the inside, by rule of a damned King and his daughter. With political intrigue, falsehood of Rumors and death in front of him again, will Noble Six survive the oncoming war, or will he die like all others?
1. Prologue:Deception

_Legend said four great Heroes would be summoned from their worlds into this one to fight the Waves of Calamity._

_Spear, Sword, Bow and Shield. Those four came into this world not long ago, but not as they were supposed to, either..._

_Now, a Fifth is to be summoned. He is not a Hero. He is not a Villain._

_He is an equalizer. _

_None will die under his watch, but he would kill all if he had to..._

_A Noble, Lost in Time, now joins our heroes... And in the nick of time too..._

* * *

**_D:UNKNOWN, M:UNKNOWN, Y:2552, _**

**_UNSC Standard Calendar._**

**_Unknown World._**

**_IFF Tag:B312_**

**_Status:Alive_**

Rolling onto the floor and stopping into a crouch, a heavily armored soldier drew his Designated Marksman Rifle off his back and aimed about. Destroyed Middle-European Gothic Housing, strange creatures milling about and a sky colored a mix of blood and other paints hanged around and above him. A swarm of giant wasps came down upon the village like a plague and ahead of him, he saw that those 'creatures', reanimated undead in Knights' armors, from the looks of things, were attacking civilians... He had a feeling that wasting ammo would be a bad idea, since there seemed to be dozens more creatures approaching.

He holstered his rifle, then surged forth, cocking his fist back and delivering a hard first hit into the back of one of the Zombies' heads, pulverizing it and sending the corpse toppling through its other friends, before stopping the slash of a sword with his gauntlet. His shields flared, but he managed to literally disarm the thing by tearing its arm off, before severing its head clean off.

He spun about and delivered a roundhouse to another, breaking it in two, before taking another's sword and cutting his way through to the civilians, one of which went bug-eyed upon sighting the armored fellow cutting his way through the undead creatures. He halted beside them, gutting a trio of Giant Wasps with one slash, before ditching the sword as it dulled. He disarmed another Zombie, taking a long spear and throwing it through a trio of the Wasps.

He looked to his right as he heard the telltale clang of a sword against shield and saw a man clad in a green cloak, with medium-weight Knight's armor on... Following him was a ginger girl with raccoon ears and a bushy tail, who wielded a sword. She slashed clean across the monster's back, before both helped out a civilian who was wounded to get out with the others...

The Spartan slammed his armored forehead against another Zombie, pummeling his head in, before sweep-kicking underneath a squadron of 5 others and kicking their heads to bloody pulps. He watched as the guy with the shield, which had an emerald gem in its forefront, come up and halt a strike that would've clipped his shields, but nothing much else, before the Sword Raccoon gutted the other creatures around them.

The guy turned toward the Spartan, before asking "Who are you!?"

All he got was a shrug, before the giant in armor jumped over him fast enough to pummel another creature to the floor, its bones cracking and breaking under the weight of his armor's boots. And the rest of it. The Spartan's shield flared as he heard another blade slash across the back of his armor, with no damage to him. The weapon, did break... The creature, meanwhile, flew ten feet back, slamming into one of the destroyed buildings and turning into fine red paste.

"Not someone I wanna mess with... Noted." The Shield Wielder said, pummeling a pair of monsters and allowing his companion to slice clean through them. He turned to the Civilians and said "Go! Help evacuate! I'll distract the Undead!" to which he saw the Raccoon Girl's eyes widen. He turned to her and said "Raphtalia, I need you to help them! I'll be fine, so go do it, yes?!"

Helpless to the situation, the girl gave a nod, before showing the others to follow. The Spartan looked to the Shield Wielder, then shook his head and took his combat stance... To which the guy simply said "If you're sticking around, I'll need help..." yet again receiving a single, almost imperceptible nod from the Spartan. The Shielder chuckled dryly and said "Man of Few Words."

Said 'Man of Few Words' preferred, in this case, to talk combat. He and the Shielder cut swathes through the horde of monsters within the village, saving many a civilian in their charge. The Spartan kept taking weapons from the monsters, using them until they're to dulled to use and throwing them aside. In the midst were a squadron of giant bull-sized humans, clad in what looked to be the most painful armor yet, including a grated helm that resembled a grill. They wielded in one hand large axes for which you'd normally need two hands. Good enough weapons, Six would say...

He slid under one of the monsters, dodging one of the slashing attacks it tried to send, before jumping to his feet and delivering nine punches into the thing's back, breaking important bones and even parts of the spine. He climbed on its back, grabbed its head with both hands and... A loud snap and crack sounded off as the Monster collapsed, its spine broken at the base of the neck, head twisted for its empty, red eyes to stare at the Spartan in shock. He grabbed the War Ax of the monster from the floor, before cutting through a herd of smaller zombies like they were small trees to be felled.

Another was grabbed by the head. The Spartan squeezed until the skull exploded in his open palm, rotting blood dissolving onto his palm. The Shielder, meanwhile, deflected attacks and dodged through wasps and blades. He had a flaming piece of wood which Six had no idea how he had gotten, but for now chose to ignore as they lead the monsters toward a wooden watch-tower in the city center.

Covering each-other, the two went together to the tower... He showed the Shielder to do his thing as he slashed and sliced at the monstrosities charging them with calm rarely seen in any soldier. He watched the Shielder as he set ablaze the tower behind him, then jumped out, with monsters burning around said tower. The man safely landed, utilizing a rope item he had on him, before landing next to Six.

The Spartan gave an approving nod, before hearing the slashes of a sword. He looked to see the Raccoon Girl, Raphtalia, the Shield Guy had called her, joining in. She sliced and stabbed her way through several monsters as she joined them, then smiled "Master Naofumi! It's so good to see you're well!" before turning to the Spartan and saying "And thank you for helping him, sir."

Six gave a light nod, before hearing a whistle. He gasped, powering his shields to maximum, before Naofumi also took cover... A swarm of flaming arrows flew in over the wooden walls of the settlement, pinging off Six's shields and off of 'Naofmi's own, seemingly energy-based shielding. The Spartan covered his visor by crossing his hands in front of his face and the arrows harmlessly dropped to the floor, snapping in half and extinguishing... Several monsters died, but the archers nearly killed them too...

He watched as a merry band of knights stepped in, grinning to their ears about their victory... Their smug commander, a possible Nobleman, stepped up... Naofumi and Raph wanted to talk to them, but Six was the first to walk up to and grab the Commander by the Collar, hoisting him above his head. The Knights surrounded Six, raising swords and shields...

"Let go of me, you petulant child!" The Knight demanded of the seven and a half, perhaps eight foot tall soldier hoisting him in the air just above his head. For the Shielder and his Raccoon Sword Girl, it was kind of hilarious. Until it wasn't... Six dropped the Knight, as per request, but drew his Battle Ax and stopped a strike that was about to hit a kid, what felt like a squire. A second strike was stopped by the Shielder... And the Sword of the girl gutted the monsters relentlessly, dropping the corpses to the floor.

The Spartan looked to the Knight Commander, who seemed terrified, before walking up to him, Battle Ax in one hand and a clenched fist as the other. He picked the man up from the dirt, set him on his feet, then showed him to go on forth... Growling, the Commander ordered "MOVE! We go to assist the other heroes!" as they walked... The Kid six and Shielder had rescued looked at the trio with a joyous gaze... And his Platoon Commander ordered against the Knight's own, "We stand to help the Shield Hero! Phalanx Formation!"

"The Knights!" Raph said happily, watching as the soldiers moved in to help them... Six nodded to the Knights as they began to help...

After a while, the tears in the sky had vanished. And the starry night sky came back to the world... The subsequent trip to the Capital of the country they were in was rather quiet for the Spartan. He sat in one of the carriages, checking up ammunition count in his DMR, before looking at the rest of his gear. An MA37K AR, an SRS99 sniper and a Magnum M6D Pistol. Beside them resided his Kukri, a similar one gifted to him by one of his teammates and an Energy Sword hilt. The weapon was turned off, but still shined and arched with energy and the Covenant's symbolism...

"... Can't believe the kid and Sergeant helped the Shield Hero today..." Muttered a knight that was on the carriage with him, thinking Six couldn't hear his conversation.

"Tell me about it... Rumor has it he forced himself on the princess and that's why everyone hates him as such... Ya think it's true?" The other Knight asked.

"I don't know. I'm just a soldier... I follow orders. But if I were to hazard a guess, aye, it's true..." The Knight said calmly, sharpening his sword. For someone who'd have forced himself on the local princess, the Shield Hero... Naofumi... Seemed pretty normal. Hell, he got a hint of passive aggressiveness in his voice. It was probably due to these 'rumors', possibly spread by the Nobleman's Daughter.

... Something to look into and correct.

"Oi, Knight." One of the soldiers said, taking his attention to him. He nodded and the trooper continued "The king has asked to see you, Shield Hero and his Slave in person... The other heroes will be present there, so behave." to which the Spartan hummed. So he had an audience to tear down the rumors... If they were untrue. He'd have to look at the woman's posture and such to understand if the allegations were true or just bullshit... And he'd need to hear Naofumi's side of the story too. He stowed his weapons on his person, then waited...

The Arrival to the Palace was greeted by a party for all heroes... Six made a mental note to sit far from Naofumi for the time being. As the Heroes sat in front of the King, the man watched every little detail in the movement of the red-haired woman sitting next to the King, whom he imagined was the Princess. She stared at the Shield Hero and had a faint grin on her face... Her body motion suggested no fear, instead a trailing smug aura... Aside that, her body language seemed to intone a belief of superiority, not what she reports would have happened to her. He knew too little of the events or when they'd transpired, but even now, she'd have fear visible in at least body language when looking at the would-be rapist. Her eyes, however, flickered with joy as she saw the man suffer... The Spartan scowled behind his helmet... This was not going to fly.

"Ah, sire... We must also add we found another Knight fighting alongside the Shield Hero in the village... But the two do not seem to be friends." One of the Guards whispered to the king. "He was protecting the populace..." He then pointed to the Spartan clad in Black armor, with red accents, sitting idly in a shaded corner, his azure visor scanning the surrounding area. He looked to the King as the man too looked at him, before he was waved forward.

The Spartan took a step beside the four heroes confidently, arms crossed. To his left was Shield Hero, Naofumi...

"Greetings, fair knight." The King spoke, feeling as the air suddenly got a hint colder when the soldier had walked up. The soldier simply gave a light nod to the man, glaring daggers from behind the damp blue visor. The king stared on at the man, seeing an empty void in his visor, rather than a pair of human eyes, as he continued, feeling a chill tingle at his spine... "Are you here to introduce yourself, Knight?"

"No..." The Spartan spoke, his voice sharp, gruff and cold as ice with a passive-aggressiveness that weighted the air down... That chill that the king felt soon spread throughout the room and even the Princess, in all her would-be-glory, froze, her cocky, but faint grin disappearing and her eyes going wide. The Spartan let his arms by his hips, hand wrapping around the hilt of his Energy Sword, to which the Guards were not sure how to react as they stared on...

"Then... What are-" The King started, but the Spartan cut in...

"I am here to address the issue of one of your Heroes." He spoke in as flat a tone as possible, almost horrifyingly robotic... The Four Heroes soon realized that the items on his armor weren't just decoration... They were guns. The King waved the man to speak on, unsure of what he would say next. The Spartan looked at the Princess, then said "I have heard the rumors spread among the Soldiers and Populace of your nation over the Shield Hero..." He continued. "And from the way the supposed Victim... Your Daughter... Acts around him, I am not believing them. She seems very blasé about spouting accusations such as the one placed upon the Shield Hero without any actual evidence to back the claim, Nobleman."

Unknowingly to him... Or knowingly, perhaps, the Spartan had just blatantly insulted the king in his face, by calling him a simple Nobleman, instead of Royalty as he was... The Bitch's eyes went wide with shock... Perfect reaction. She glared at the Spartan, scowling, but he continued, unabated "Her body language, as small as it may be at the moment, leads me to believe what she has spoken about the man behind me is false. She moves as if she's superior, as if what she has pulled from her bag of dirty tricks is naught but that. A trick. And honestly, I am shocked... Shocked at the blatant lack of investigation, of evidence and of a fair trial."

He looked back to the Shield Hero, to see him, mouth slightly open and his emerald eyes wide, while the Raphtalia stared there, stumped by the defense put up by the man. Turning back to the king, who seemed angrier with every word the Spartan spouted, he heard him speak "Are you a friend of this pes-" and the Spartan stomped his foot into the ground and shook his head.

"I am a neutral third party witnessing the events from the outside. I only have decided to step in because your daughter falsely accused a man of possibly the highest degree of treason in your nation, _Nobleman_." He accentuated the last word as if to rub salt into the wound "And she did so without any basis. She shows no physical or psychological damage akin to the act the Shield Hero supposedly forced upon her." He continued to deconstruct the accusations that Bitch Princess brought forth toward Naofumi, who pursed his lips and tried not to smile... Maybe there was some hope for him in this world beside Raph...

"H-How dare-" The witch spoke, but cut off again as Six glared ice daggers at her to shut her up. She hid, cowering, behind a Guard. Whimpering child...

The Spartan calmly continued "I expected sanity in a country who faces death threats such as these things, these creatures your heroes go against, Nobleman. The fact that your daughter concerns herself with trying to make one of the four people here to save you from imminent, not to mention brutal destruction makes me think this whole country... If not this whole world... Deserves to be put to the sword. Lest I had found the Shield Hero, and his Demihuman Companion, I would've myself razed your entire city to the ground. You never even allowed the man to my left to speak his mind or his story, all because your precious girl's antics. You so blindly trust her, that I fear you nearly lost an ally in the form of the young man. Two, if I account the well-trained swordswoman that is the Demi-Human... I know not what your little brat's game was, but I know this much... Your kin are doomed to failure with this kind of tomfoolery, _Noble Man._"

His final words had enough Venom to kill the strongest monster within the legions that attacked the world. One of the guards growled, then finally snapped, drawing his sword and yelling "Nobody disrespects the king and Princess!" As he charged, raising the sword. The Spartan looked behind him at the charging man, grabbed him with his open right hand by the one wielding the sword, twisted his wrist, forcing him to drop the sword. He then punched the forearm, bursting and pulverizing the bone inside while also denting the gauntlet... The man's screams of pain came to cringing people around, but were cut short by the Soldier grabbing him by the head and heaving him, then throwing him at the king's feet, helmet dented, arm broken and screaming for help...

"... If any of you try that again, I will fill all of you so full of lead, not even your closest relative will be able to identify your bloated, rotting carcasses when they wash ashore." He growled, almost like a wolf, while glaring around at the Guards. All guards stepped back, eyes wide and trembling. And all dropped their swords and pikes to the floor... One fell to his knees and threw up on the marbled floor of the Throne Room, before the Spartan turned to the Princess and stomped toward her... The guard she cowered behind fainted, leaving her open to the Spartan. She too ran, to the side of the King, as the Spartan glared at them.

"W-W-What do you w-want?" The King asked with a trembling voice, gripping onto the arms of his throne tightly. The Spartan looked back calmly to Raph and the Shield Hero, both of whom were smiling, though the latter a little less, then said "You will keep your arrogant brat and her Party members away from the Shield Hero and his Demihuman companion. And until you prove to me that he has done what you say, Brat..." He turned to the cowering Princess "I, myself will serve with his party and gather evidence to the contrary of his... 'Personality' as you want to paint it." before turning his back and walking away, not even bowing before the king.

He stopped beside the Shield Hero and placed his hand on his shoulder, before giving him a calm, light nod... He nodded back, still dumbfound at what happened, before looking to Raphtalia, whose tail was waggling out of joy as she smiled at the Spartan. The soldier then looked to the Bow and Sword Heroes, who both gave him light, imperceptible nods... They must've gotten the message ahead... But the Spear Hero didn't... The blonde fucker looked ticked off...

Ignoring the deathly glares aimed at them, the Spartan, Naofumi and Raphtalia walked out into the halls, with the latter most bursting out into a loud cheer "That was amazing! Thank you! You defended Master Noafumi like I never thought I'd see anyone else do outside the party!" to which Six looked to her, a slight frown behind his helmet... From the way they acted in there, he wasn't sure if they believed the Spartan's Sherlock-esque assessments...

"Yeah... You actually stood up for me and Raphtalia... Thanks." Shield Hero nodded to him, face blank, but eyes shimmering... The Spartan could tell the man lived with this

"... A clinically insane person like Rapists would not have helped the people in the village with the fierceness you did, Shield Hero." He noted simply. "Until I'm proven otherwise, I will be your vanguard... Because I think, with all the Rumors, you will need one added companion." He simply stated, his voice as cold and calculate as before. Though, in the words, the Hero and his ally could feel a hint of fondness.

"I'll hold you to that." Naofumi answered calmly. "Let's go... We've got a road to take."

"Naofumi, wait!" Spoke the Spear Hero... Six swiveled about and drew the hilt of his Energy Sword, but didn't ignite it... The bastard, scowling, stared at the Shield Hero, then said "Duel me! I know what you did, you son of a bitch and we, Heroes, aren't supposed to do that! Free the slave girl right now!" to which Six looked to Raphtalia and the Shield Hero... Hmm... Curious...

... First piece of evidence, or just bullshit?


	2. Betrayal?

... The Spartan stepped in-between Shield Hero's companion and the Spear Hoe. A reaction which seemed to anger the man before them... He growled, then aimed his spear at Six and said "Get the hell out of my way! You disrespected Myne, one of my party members and the Princess of the nation we're here to defend! You're lucky I don't just lob your head off where you stand!" before Six took off his belt the Energy Sword and ignited it with a hiss and spark. The Spearman backed off, eyes wide as the Spartan readied the blade, which was sharpened to a micron thanks to the plasma containment field...

"T-That's... That's an Energy Sword... Wait... Oh... Oh, fuck... You're a S-S-Spartan!" Stuttered the Spear Hero, his lower lip trembling. Six gave a nod, then brought the blade's edge up... He felt a touch on his shoulder, weighed down by a shield, then turned to see Naofumi, a bit of his hair arching up thanks to his shield's electricity. He shook his head, then turned to the Spear Hero. The Shielder stepped in front of the Spartan...

"If you want a duel, Motoyasu, that's fine by me... But what the hell are you asking me to do?" The Shielder asked in a low growl. All three had heard it well enough... Naofumi just wanted to make sure he got this right. Motoyasu yet again gave a reply... But squeaked this time as he stared at the Spartan... "I-If I win the duel, you'll release Raphtalia..." to which Six looked to the girl, who seemed frightened... Again, she had no signs of actual damage, neither psychological nor mental... Of course, Six hadn't know her before Naofumi had hired her, but from the way she acted... He treated her well.

"... Well, shit. What do I get if I win?" Naofumi asked, crossing his arms.

"You get to walk away with both her and your new pal." Motoyasu spoke, swallowing air as he felt the Spartan's ice-cold glare bore into him...

"... Not really fair now, is it? I'm gonna say no." Naofumi said, turning away. Six and the girl followed, but were stopped by about a dozen guards... Six still had his Energy Sword up. He glared back as Bitch Princess walked into the scene. The Spartan stowed his Energy Sword and drew his handgun, cocking back the hammer and taking the safety off... The click startled the Spearman, who staggered.

"What are you so scared of, sir Motoyasu?" Asked the girl... And she froze as a gunshot echoed. She heard the snap-crack of a bullet going by her head and striking the ground, before turning to the Spartan and shaking now. The barrel of his pistol was still smoking... A waste of a round, but he hoped it made his point. Glaring at the woman, the Spartan threatened in his usual Deadpan "Don't think I lied before..." before holstering the handgun. The SAPHE rounds burned through a bit of marble, leaving a rather deep hole in the floor of the palace... And the Princess flopped to her knees, eyes wide...

"You want a duel, Motoyasu? Fine..." Naofumi growled "If I win, we walk out and I don't have to hear from you until we fight the next Wave... If you win, you can dispel Raphtalia's mark..." The Shielder offered, readying his weapon. "If you still wanna go through... Because I think your girlfriend just about pissed herself thanks to our Third party over here." He quipped, tilting his head to Six.

"M-hmm." The Spartan gave a nod. He walked toward the Princess and Spearman and the Guards did little to stop him. He knelt in front of both, staring at the princess and he spoke "Any foul play and the next bullet is going between your eyes." simply as that... "Understood?" He then demanded... The girl quickly nodded, whimpering as the Spartan stood up and walked to Naofumi... He froze as he saw someone put a gag over Raph's mouth. The girl screamed for help, making the Spartan draw his Energy Sword and rush. Shield Hero joined him, clearing a perimeter around the girl.

"She will stay with me and my guards..." The King stated from behind Six... "'Tis to make sure no cheating happens." He grinned vilely... Six slowly turned his head to the man, glaring through the visor yet again. Whoever Six was to this people, it was clear they feared him, as even the king ducked behind a Guard when he saw the Spartan ready his pistol again.

Shield Hero showed Six to stay calm and said to the King and Bitch "Let's go to whatever Arena you lot have..." Despite his current uneasiness, the Spartan sighed, crossing his arms. Unknown to anyone but him, as they moved to the arena, the Spartan had flicked on a certain set of systems within his helmet. A recording device flickered on on the side of his helmet.

And then, much to everyone's surprise... The Spartan vanished. As they got to the place where the melee would take place, the Spartan had gotten himself perched up and hidden behind the roof of the square building, where a crowd had gathered. He drew his SRS-99 sniper, racked the bolt and shouldered the rifle, eyeing the Princess as she went to Spear Hoe's corner...

As the duo took stances, the Spartan made sure to record the fight for posterity, saving the data in a holochip he had inserted into the camera's memory slot. He set the rifle to safe and gazed upon the fight... It started off just right. The bastard Spear Hoe charged Shield Hero from the front, allowing the man he'd defended to parry every strike from whatever form Fuckhead's spear had taken.

Naofumi was quick on his feet and with his moves and wit. He kept parrying and responding to the man's attacks with snark. Every hit went shot for shot with him, but he managed to parry it. Naofumi deployed what looked like a pair of hellhounds from his shield's front. They forced Shithead Spear on the defensive, making him dodge their attacks...

He managed to clutch the situation by deploying a fast spear thrusting attack multiple times. It actually managed to wound Naofumi... But the boy wasn't done yet. He parried the Spear with his hand, then sent his shield into Motoyasu's stomach, making him stagger, before summoning what looked like a hardlight shield via magic and sending the man tumbling back... With a strange biting balloon attached to him, much to the crowd's chagrin/awe. The Spartan locked eyes with the Bitch Princess as she scowled... And he could swear he saw a flash in her palm... He decided to film the next move... As Naofumi trapped the Spear Shithead in a cage with a multitude of those little balloon fuckers... She used a spell or power of sorts...

It knocked Naofumi to the floor. A gust of wind emerging from the woman's hand. Six was lucky enough to catch it on camera... Cheating whore caused Naofumi to lose as a powerful strike hit him center-mass... The Spartan tightened his grip on the sniper rifle, annoyed by the sudden development, before standing up from his perch and jumping down just as they were about to leave with Raphtalia... The Spartan saw the man begging on the floor for people's understanding about the cheating, which Six spotted too, before he basically barked loud enough to halt everyone "STOP!" as he looked at the Bitch and her father walking away with Raph...

They all turned toward him and the Shield Hero, curled up in a ball, then the Spartan warned "Take another step and I will kill you, you cheating whore." before taking out the holo-chip from the Helmet Camera and saying "Your daughter cheated, Nobleman... She cheated so that your Spear 'Hero'..." He continued, accentuating heavily on the air quotations around 'hero' "May win. I have the evidence right here." making Motoyasu stagger.

"... I have no idea what you're talking about, Knight." The Princess chuckled, a hint of venom in her speech.

"You have a damn fine idea..." The Spartan growled, making her stagger. He turned to Shield Hero and knelt beside him, before saying "Get up..."

"Leave me alone!" The defeated man barked... On the verge of tears.

"Shield Hero. Get up." The Spartan ordered. "I have evidence that she cheated... I can get your friend back for you."

"LIES! All of you want to lie to me! To break me further!" He yelled... Six looked back as he heard the telltale foot steps of Raphtalia, running away from her guards and taking her gag off... The Spear Hero wanted to come for her, but Six drew his Energy Sword and positioned himself between the Spear and the Demi-Human and Shielder... Sizzling with anger, the Spartan said "Not. Another. Step..." with a fury in his otherwise deadpan voice that yet again turned the Spearman's blood to ice and froze his muscles. Six didn't care... He listened to the girl now, waiting to see if it'll work...

"... I will always be by your side, come what may!" Raphtalia pleaded with Naofumi... He whined about 'lies' again... He actually thought the girl had left him too.

"Try as I may... Nobody will accept me! Nobody trusts me!" He whined, looking at the shield on his arm with contempt as the veins in his cheeks shined red. "... All because of this damn thing!" He yelled, trying to pry it off and crying in pain. He leaned forward again, hiding his face, before continuing "I drew the short straw the moment I arrived here! Try as I might..." His voice cracked "Nobody will accept me!"

"That's simply not true!" The Raccoon Gal spoke "Even if you couldn't fight, you protected those villagers with it!" And she placed her hand on the shield "This shield saved my life many times... And during the wave, you saved many more lives aside from mine... You defended me yet again too." She said softly, looking into the Shield Hero's eyes with hope... Warmth...

"I'm not that nice a guy... I only thought about myself at first...! I saw you as nothing but a tool..." The man admitted...

"Yet you saved me." She said... Before smiling and bringing him in for a hug "And I know you're better than anyone else in this world." She smiled, remembering the gifts, the fun times before the First Wave... And continued "I know how kind you truly are. You're the one who saved my life... Gave me a sword and purpose... And even if the whole world speaks ill of you, I will be by your side, telling them they're wrong! I'll tell them again and again what a wonderful person you are..." She then looked him in the eyes again, hints of tears forming at the corners of her eyes "And I will always be by your side... As your sword..."

As the man began recalling their times together, even if they were short, the Spartan saw him tear up as well, while the red veins and the fire that had somehow overtaken his shield started to disperse. He shut off the Energy Sword and took to his side, placing a hand on their shoulders... Raph looked to him with a smile as the world around them returned. And the Spartan simply nodded again, before standing up and tossing the chip to the floor as more guards came in... The footage of Myne's use of wind magic replayed over and over... And the Sword and Bow heroes stepped up to Six's side... Ren, the Sword Hero, said "My, my... Pretty incriminating evidence."

"A holographic display." Itsuki, the Bow Hero said. "Ingenious. Well done, Spartan. I am Itsuki Kawasumi. My friend with the Sword is Ren Amaki. Bow and Sword Heroes, respectively... I believe this is proof enough that Naofumi won the duel by forfeit, if not by proper fight, don't you, Ren?" and he got a nod from the Swordsman. The bow hero looked to the King and Princess, as well as their Spear-wielding 'friend', before saying "We'll let them go. And I'd suggest listening to the man in titanic armor over here. He has _far more _strength than even us."

The Spartan, Shield Hero and Raccoon Sword Girl looked to the men beside them... Six nodded to them, before turning to grab his holographic display, letting it play one more time over for Bitch McGee to scowl over. He stowed it into the chest pockets of his armor and helped the Shield Hero and Raph out of the place, Energy Sword Drawn and being glared at by everyone around save for the other two heroes and the local populace.

As they walked out toward wherever, the Spartan began humming an old song. 'Florian Geyer's Blackshirts'. As they walked, Shield Hero looked to him, more relieved now, then asked "Hey. Thanks again... But can we actually get a name for the dude who's been keeping us safe throughout our second trip to the Capital?" to which the Spartan raised a brow...

"Six... Call me Six." He simply stated... Before looking forward again, trying to ignore that pang of guilt and nostalgia hitting him. He sighed deeply and waited outside the Inn as they went in. He would stand guard for the entire evening... Looking up at a starlit night sky, Six had, for the first time in his life, a peaceful moment in which he could recollect... The deafening silence surrounded him as his thoughts began to swirl in his head. He kept his gaze steady, even as the stream of conscious thought continued. Reach, the battles, the siege of Alexandria... The destruction of the _Solace_, the deaths... Jorge... Kat... Carter... Emile...

Noble...

The Spartan sighed, taking his kukri out of its sheath and starting to play with it by balancing the tip of the razor-sharp knife on his index finger, seeing for how long he could hold it. After six seconds, the knife fell. He caught it out of midair and sheathed it... And he saw Shield Hero walk out. He leaned against the wall on the other side of the door and said "Why'd you help us?"

"... Discrepancies in that woman's little 'accusations' needed correcting." The Spartan stated.

"That it?" Snorted the Shield Hero. "Must be more than that."

"That is it." Six stated bluntly... Shield Hero nodded and said "Alright..." Before preparing to walk inside. "Anyways... Thank you again... I think you've at least got some good faith with the people... If you want, there's still a spot open in my and Raphtalia's room. If not, hang around outside like that one creepy guy trying to sell shady stuff at the corner of the street..."

Six yet again answered with a nod...

"Man of few words except when it counts... Got it." The Shielder nodded back "G'night." And with that, he walked inside... Six did want to talk more, but alas... Spartans got some kind of shell shock at times too. He sighed, maintaining his watch over the night as per his own desire, arms crossed, but ready to draw any weapon in case of a needed defense... They'd probably need to go get a new Crest for Raphtalia in the morning, if she wanted to...


	3. Cammie

As day broke over the Melromarc Kingdom, Six had been staying outside for the better part of the night. No requirements of sleep for Spartans meant he could stay and keep watch. Not to say several Guards hadn't gazed at him funny, but he kept it professional and ignored them. He arranged his chest rig and checked himself for ammo. He hadn't spent a mag ever since coming here, save for that warning shot for the Bitch. Speaking of, the trio now had to go join the 'receive the money' party at the place... Good, more time to frighten Bitch and the Noble Man.

The duet of Man and Demi-Human finally came out of the Inn. And ahead of them, as they walked down the busy streets, Six marched, AR ready just in case. The streets were bristling with people, compared to last evening when it was mostly empty. Shopkeeps tended to their storefronts, people milled about and bought foodstuffs and Guards kept order within the city well enough.

In the sunlight, Naofumi had now noticed Six' armor was black with scarlet accents. It was a heavy combat set, padded for possible explosions and more so than what seemed to be the usual armor. His helmet resembled that of a Centurion's to some degree. His right shoulder was padded and had a large plate of titanium strapped to it, with minor scorches and burns, as well as the sheath to a Kukri, a bent combat knife about the length of his forearm if straightened. And the man was packing heat. A lot of it. Several mid-caliber guns and one long sniper rifle. Anti-Materiel from the looks of it.

On his less padded left shoulder armor, there was a cross with a thick white border and back interior. Each arm slightly bottled up as it reached the center. It was a German _Balkenkreuz_. And sitting around the right arm of his armor was a gauntlet with a communication tablet and a Christian cross made of what seemed to be stainless steel wrapped around the wrist via a thin chain. The man murmured the lyrics to an old War Song... Clearly in some form of German. Probably middle-high German if Naofumi were to hazard a guess. A Christian War Song?

Sure seemed to be it...

He continued to march, murmuring the song as he walked with the cross dangling from his wrist. And they were behind him all the way to the Palace. Stowing his rifle as they entered the confines of the place, he took to the side, leaning against a pillar and letting them get their money's worth... Six glared toward the Princess again, keeping her in sight as the king spoke...

"Welcome back, heroes. Though last night's festivities were cut short, we are here to proceed with our original plan for that evening." The King noted, showing a servant girl to bring out a tray with money pouches. She walked toward Motoyasu first, before saying "We shall go straight to the giving of funds... Spear Hero, Motoyasu, shall receive 3400 Silver Coins, as per agreement..." And Six glared at the man as he was handed the money. Hard enough that he slipped and dropped the pouch onto his foot out of fear... That was endearing... The king sighed, then continued "The Sword and Bow heroes shall receive 2400 Silver Coins... And as it was agreed before, the Shield Hero shall receive a customary 500 Silver Coins..."

And as Naofumi extended his hand to take the coin... They heard a "However..." from the king...

Six took a step or two forward and the Guards did nothing to stand in his way... He yoinked the money from the woman's hand and handed it to Naofumi, before turning to the king and saying "However _what,_ Noble Man?" with his lovely icy voice that had so normally frightened half a dozen men in steel armor and nearly killed one of them... "If you were going to try and cheat the Shield Hero out of his fair money, need I remind you that your whore cheated?"

The King gritted his teeth, before the Bow Hero stepped up and said "Whilst I... Dislike his usage of words, I too agree with the Spartan... The Princess had used air magic and we even have footage of the little mishap... Attempting to cheat Naofumi out of his hard-earned money is not going to help your relation with us either..." And the Spartan heard a slight crack in the man's voice... Heh, he was actually afraid.

"... For this little situation, we will have to up the amount." Six said, hand hanging around the hilt of his Energy Sword... The King's eyes went wide, before he burst "Are you mad!?"

The Spartan's weapon unclipped from his belt and ignited with a hiss... "Do you wish to reformulate that, _Noble Man...? _Did I hear 700 Silver Coins?" before the man's eyes went wide. He wanted to protest ,as did his daughter, before Six spoke "950 now? Oh, my, how _generous _of you, Noble Man..." again mockingly... Raph and Nao went bug-eyed at the prospect... Before another protest, Six spoke "1400 now? My, oh, my, any more of this and you will have to switch to Gold..." calmly...

"... Fine... Take your money, Shield Hero and get our of my sight." He spoke as more coins were added his purse. Six counted the money as it fell into the purse, then he shut off his energy sword and said "Good..." before Raph pushed Naofumi's clenched fist down and smiled...

"This is great, Master Naofumi... It means we do not have to stand in this wretched place anymore." She said with a passive-aggressiveness a hint too similar to Six's. The Spartan gave a nod as the Princess and King scowled at them. The group walked out calmly and once again marched down the streets, this time led by Naofumi toward an ol' purple tent in the middle of some slums. Inside it, dozens of cages... And a stumpy, rotund old man with a strange 'stache, pince-nez and suit like what you'd see in a Circus. He had a wide grin on his face as he eyed Naofumi and Raphtalia.

"Ah, welcome, welcome!" The man said quite jovially... And he noticed Six "Ah, I see you've got a new ally! Greetings!"

The Spartan took a moment, then looked around as his HUD kicked in... Dozens of cages filled with monsters and other creatures. This was a Slave Trader's den. He looked to Naofumi with a hint of surprise, then turned to the tent flap and sat outside on guard duty. He watched as people mulled about on the outside of the tent. DMR drawn and aimed to the ground, safety off, the Spartan felt one of his pockets... He pulled up a set of 3 chains, each holding two Dog-Tags a piece. The six 'tags clinked together as he looked over the names. Jorge, Kat and Emile... The three whose tags the Spartan managed to recover. Carter's were lost once he struck that Scarab and Jun was alive, for all Six knew.

... He looked over to his left, to see a person in a cape staring at him. A pair of amber eyes looked from underneath the hood, shining and Six could see a faint grin on the hidden features. Confused, the Spartan scanned the surrounding area for anyone else, before noting that the person vanished. He narrowed his eyes, then felt a hand on his shoulder. She looked over to Shield Hero, who nodded and said "Everything alright?"

The Spartan simply nodded...

As the trio walked, Six noticed Naofumi had a basket with an egg and crest on it... He took a pause, before pointing at it. Nao nodded and said "Don't worry... It's a monster egg, to help us in combat." to which the Spartan simply turned away after a moment of staring. He wouldn't mind a little extra backup aside from Raphtalia... The group made their way toward a smith and the old man working there, a bald, light-skinned man with a sharp beard and Smith's clothing, waved to them. He crossed his arms, smiling, then said "I see you got an armored fellow here, Kid."

"Hey, Boss. Yep... We just kind of scraped him off the sidewalk." The Shield Hero noted. "Want anything?" He looked to Six, while the Spartan was already looking for alternatives for his long-range weaponry. He was eyeing a very nice-looking Bastard Sword with a cross-shaped guard and a pommel bearing a scarlet gem. He walked up to the weapon, noticing it had inscriptions on the serrated double blade at the bottom, just above the Guard.

"Ah, nice pick, man. That's a sword made out of Holy Steel... Basically blessed to be able to dispel curses and cut down any undead or cursed beasts with ease. "She has a name:Cirilla, or the Lady of the Worlds. And she was wielded a while back by a local Lord... Apparently it makes you hear the voice of a young woman. Legend has it it was also imbued with some kind of curse in itself that attracts other creatures from other realms to the User, or maybe even the user itself, but I dunno if I believe that. Or the voices, in fact."

Six knelt, trying to read the writing on the Blade of the weapon and feeling the inscriptions, among which was a small Orthodox cross... A cross above a cross guard... He'd have laughed a bit if he didn't find it intriguing... The Boss spoke "You wanna try it?" to which the Spartan gazed back at the man. "Hell, you can have it for free. I just wanna get rid of it for now... It's been sitting on my shelves for too long."

"Why hasn't anybody taken it?" Raphtalia asked, raising a brow. "Come to think of it... How didn't _we _see it when we first came in here to buy my sword?" She then asked, looking to Boss. He shrugged, then spoke calmly, looking to Six "It's also said in Legend that the weapon usually garners the attention of those from worlds ravaged by War and Terror... Those that would wield it with a degree of calm and wisdom not a lot of men have. Again, bogus to me, but... I guess? So it's all yours, big guy."

Six wrapped his palm around the handle of the sword and felt a shock surge through his body. A current of power so strong it traveled from the tip of his fingers, down his palm and to new pathways he didn't know he had... The blade lit up, the inscriptions shining scarlet as he picked it and its scabbard up... He closed his eyes, then sheathed the blade within its scabbard, putting it on his back with his other weapons.

He looked back and Raphtalia smiled "It looks good on you, Six."

Giving a nod, he crossed his arms and let them speak on, trying to keep away. He once again felt the tags clink together in his pocket... He ignored them for now, then straightened up and walked toward the door. Exiting the place for a breath of 'fresh' recycled air, he looked around... And yet again that figure in a cape caught his eyes. This time he kept his gaze locked onto it... Feeling his back for the sword, he slowly moved toward it. It tilted its head and its form seemed to shimmer with a mirthful chuckle, before it turned around and ran toward a tunnel... The Spartan dashed after it, shoving his way through the people on the street and readying his pistol.

He kept his eye on the fugitive, his VISR mode activating and highlighting his target, which was now tagged as 'Hostile' just for safety. The scarlet outline stuck to the caped figure as it made dashes and turns and swipes that the Spartan caught up to quickly. Winding up in a dark alleyway, the Spartan grabbed the woman, from the sound of pain she made, by the back of the cape, yanking her back. She fell on her ass, on the floor and Six aimed his handgun at the back of his head... The girl shivered, then raised her hands, showing slave binds on her wrists. Her hands were... Skeletal almost. She was underfed...

The Spartan took a moment, before another blip appeared on his Motion Tracker... Above. He swiveled about and drew his sword, parrying the strike of a set of claws coming in from behind. He turned about, facing his assailant and readying the blade in his hands... A woman clad in black clothing resembling of a cultist's appeared. She had steel claws on plated gauntlets and a killer's look in her eyes.

"... The Wolf will not return to this realm! Not whilst I live!" She roared...

Okay, Six wanted context... But for now he would have to fight. The Spartan felt a blade dink his armor and he looked back. The little girl had a knife that had broken down the middle. She _was _a little girl. A Cat Abhuman... And one of her ears was cut off. She staggered, eyes wide as her mouth went agape... Six noticed a claw mark on her face and saw her tail was stubby, wounded... And she had several other wounds on her arms, as well as ragged clothing, instead of what the Cultist bitch before him was wearing...

Claw marks... 3 of them. Not deep... He looked at the woman before him, her claws shimmering red...

Oh... That fucking did it.

He surged forth, his blade lancing with scarlet energy as he struck. Sparks flew as the blade connected with the woman's gauntlets, leaving cuts in them that dented them further and further. Six had now noticed her claws, too, had symbols on them. He continued striking as the girl behind him looked on, fearful... Not at him, but at the Witch... The Spartan felt himself get pushed a tad back, leaving marks in the dirt.

He parried the woman's claws and got stuck in a blade clash. She gritted her jagged teeth at him, then snarled... Six spoke calmly "Lady, as much as I'd like to decapitate you where you stand... I need to ask three bloody things... One:Who the hell are you? Two:What Wolf do I have to do with? And three..." He glared at her, pushing back and kicking her right in the gut hard enough to break bones and cause internal organ failure, before placing his sword by her neck, before almost snarling at her "_What did you do to the girl behind me_?"

She gritted her teeth, then said "You are the Wolf! The one who would see our Mistress dead! I will kill you where you sta-" And she paused, vomiting blood to the floor, leaving a puddle. The Spartan squinted at her as she stared into his eyes... And without any remorse, he made sure her head wasn't attached to her body anymore. A cut across the center of the neck and the blade didn't dent a bit... As the corpse of the Cultist collapsed, the Spartan sheathed his blade, then turned to the little girl, who'd crawled herself into a corner...

He slowly moved toward her, hands raised, as she backed herself on into the corner, clawing at it and clearly frightened of the Giant... The Spartan noticed the Slave's Crest on her chest as it began to vanish. The broken knife was in her right hand, aimed for him... The Spartan sighed, understanding where she came from... He raised his hands still, then took a knee, to be on-level with the Girl. Undoing the seals of his helmet, the man took it off slowly, revealing combed black hair and icy blue eyes... As well as a face scarred by war. A burn mark on the right cheek, a gash here, a suture scar there... And yet he had kinder features than her original Mistress.

He clipped the helmet to his belt, then took another thing out of said belt. The girl looked at him, surprised. She didn't trust him or know him... And he killed Master... He killed Master, that was good...? She was in a darker corner of the alley. And the Spartan was extending a candy bar to her. She felt the scent of chocolate. Chocolate? She hadn't had chocolate since... She scurried a bit forward on all four now, letting the Knife off to the side... The Spartan showed her the chocolate, then took a bite out of the corner and chewed down on it. He further extended his hand and the girl snatched the bar out of his hand, staring at him with still a hint of fright. Starting to eat it... Six had a feeling the girl _was _malnourished. He saw she was skin and bones. Her ribs were visible...

Six was still irked by the fucking chopped ear. He stood up and extended his hand toward the eating girl... She looked up at him, a tad surprised, then she swallowed... A cutesy face came out from the shadows into the light, scarred, but still like that of a kid. Slowly, weakly and with fear permeating every move she made, the girl took Six' hand, which about 10 times the size of hers. Standing to her feet, weakly, knees trembling, she looked at the Spartan... Her Knight in armor, standing tall, helmet unclipped and in his left hand... He gave her a faint smile... And she smiled back, her mouth full of chocolate stains.

The Spartan snorted, then shook his head and slid his helmet on his head... Just in time to see someone approaching him with a knife from behind. The girl gasped and strafed past Six, chanting with her cutesy, serious voice something in a language the Spartan recognized "_A MORTE IGNIS_!" and making him freeze on the spot as a Fireball emerged from her hand. It struck the Knife-wielder in the chest, burning his ragged clothing... And Six took a moment to compose himself. He looked to the girl, whose hand was shimmering with similar symbols to those on his sword. She lowered it, holding onto his with her other hand. Somewhat tighter.

"Nice shot..." The Spartan noted, somewhat shocked as he watched the man on the ground feeling his chest and groaning in pain. The girl tilted her head cutely, smiling at the Spartan, before she gasped as the man turned to her and placed a palm on her head... She expected a hit, clenching her teeth for it, but... It never came... Instead, she felt a good touch... A pat on her head and a bit of a ruffling of her hair... Lip trembling and eyes shimmering with joy, she looked up to Six, to which the Spartan was unsure what to say... "What, nobody pat your head before?"

"Nu-uh." She shook her head, her accent thickly Scottish just in that little word.

"Six!" Naofumi yelled as he and Raph came running from behind a corner... The two froze, seeing the headless corpse on the floor behind him, the burned man in front and the little kid with still-shining scarlet magical runes on her hand. Naofumi took a moment to figure out the events, before saying "Uhm... We interrupting something, Six? What happened to the little Demi-Human girl?"

"Her master made her wounds, I believe." The Spartan noted. "I'm surprised she trusted me simply from me offering her chocolate."

"She looks malnourished, the poor thing..." Raph said, crouching in front of the little girl and taking her runed hand, before asking "What's your name, sweetie?"

"Cwawissa." The girl said proudly, placing her fist onto her chest... And with that cutesy mispronunciation.

"AWWWWWWWW, MY GOD!" Raph squeaked "SO CUTE!" and she turned to Naofumi "CAN WE KEEP HER?! PLEASE!?"

"... Raphtalia, I do believe that's her choice." Naofumi said... And Raph pouted with the saddest look in her face yet.

"Clarissa, huh?" Six raised a brow... "How's Cammie sound, kid?"

"Aye!" The Scottish Catgirl said with a smile "Thank ye, mastah..." She then finished, hugging Six... The Spartan didn't know what for, but he'd figured it had to do with the half-cut ear and the claw marks on her face... And now that he looked better, the runes in her hand were _carved _in... Christ almighty, what kind of cult was she part of...? For now, he'd have to let that go. He'd ask it later...

Wait...

Did she call him **_master... Wot_**?


End file.
